Warrior Logo May Have Been Tradition, But Was Offensive: Survey

WAKEFIELD, MA — While the community will weigh in on the Warrior logo late next month at the polls, many have already had their voice heard through a district-issued survey.

Superintendent Doug Lyons revealed the results of the community and student surveys at Tuesday night's School Committee meeting before the committee voted to retire the Warrior logo. The surveys' results were, of course, divided.

There were 1,474 results from the community survey, with 64 percent of the respondents being between age 35-54. It didn't appear to reveal anything new, but some at the meeting said it proved informative.

"Based on the data it absolutely is I think a very revealing snapshot," Lyon said.

Others thought it shouldn't inform the body's choice either way.

"The School Committee's responsibility is not to make a decision based on percentages," member Greg Liakos said.

Respondents were asked to choose up to three options that described how seeing the logo made them feel: Nearly 27 percent said it was time for a change and over 15 percent said they love the logo. but the most popular answers by far were "The logo is a longstanding tradition," "The logo is a significant part of the history of Wakefield" and "The logo is offensive to Native American groups." All three options were chosen by 40 percent of respondents.

The survey also asked what words people associate with the Warrior moniker, but that question has been criticized for including only positive words such as "brave," "strength" and "honor," which were the three most popular options. Hundreds chose "other" and wrote in words like "racist" and "embarrassing."

Lyons said there was support on both sides of the issue, but that one of the main themes of the submitted comments was changing the logo and keeping the name — which the School Committee did in a 5-2 vote later that evening.

"We can change it to a different warrior symbol and keep the warrior name," one comment read. "In all honesty, we have many examples of warriors in our everyday life and this particular one is disrespectful."

Some respondents pointed to last week's panel of tribal leaders in explaining why the logo had to go. The panel saw overwhelming sentiment opposing the logo.

"How can we even question what to do anymore after hearing from members of the Native American community," asked one respondent. "It was clear what we needed to do a while ago and it's embarrassingly obvious now. Stop using Natives as mascots."

Many others believed tradition should triumph.

"The Wakefield Warrior is a proud representative for the school and community of Wakefield," one person responded. "A symbol of strength and commitment to the community. A tribute to people that should be remembered and celebrated, not dismissed and forgotten."

There was also a student survey that had similar results as the community one but trended more toward the logo being tradition. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they love the current logo, while about another quarter said they do not have strong feelings.

Related:

• Goodbye, Warrior: Wakefield Schools Votes To Drop Logo
• Wakefield Must Drop Hurtful Warrior, Indigenous People Say

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Wakefield Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.